In the Open Cage

Chapter 37

Royle practically tore down the door. He stumbled forward in an attempt to slow down, breathing hard, his pulse racing.

"Where is she?" he asked, not caring that the door was still open. Kiesha was standing at the wide window, watching the shower of rain that tapped against the glass. The room had that musty smell that always came with wet weather. White sheets were draped over old easels. Royle's skin prickled. It somehow felt even more invasive with the prince gone from the world.

Kiesha didn't reply. She had her arms wrapped around herself as though she was cold. Royle struggled to hold in his anger. He stormed forward and roughly turned her around.

"Where the hell is she, Kiesha?"

Kiesha had tears in her eyes. She looked up at Royle, her long lashes wet. "I didn't think you'd come. I thought it was a lie."

"What are you talking about?" Royle edged closer to yelling. "Where is Misa, Kiesha? What have you done to her?"

"You really do care about her." Kiesha sighed and pushed away from him. "Back then, when you broke my heart to pieces, I thought you were a monster. You took everything from me. My father married me off because he thought I had disgraced his family for falling in love with a captain. I lost my home, my friends, my freedom, my dignity. But, you didn't even care, did you?"

"Is that what this is about?" Royle could feel steam rising inside him. Was this it? Was his past mistake going to be the reason he lost Misa? "You're still angry about what happened?"

"I thought you didn't have a heart."

"You should have left her out of it. She had nothing to do with it."

"I wanted to see for myself." Kiesha said. "I wanted to see if you really loved her. She told me you were engaged. Even then, I thought she was just being delusional. The Royle Bentham falling in love with a witch? It's honestly ridiculous. She's called the witch of bewitchment. She must have cast a spell on you."

Royle's fingers curled into fists. He needed to be careful about what he said if he was going to get Kiesha to talk. "I'm not under a spell. I need you to understand. A witch's spell doesn't last long, especially not bewitchment. Surely, you'd know that."

Kiesha raised her chin in preparation to win the stubborn fight. No matter what Royle said, she would still think she was in the right. 

"Good," she asserted. "That means your world will crumble. Know what it feels like to have your heart broken, Royle."

"What did you do?" Royle's fists tightened so hard that they shook. "What did you do to her?"

Kiesha shrugged, glancing back at the window. "If you run, maybe you can still save her."

"Kiesha."

She closed her eyes and let out a breath. "You have no idea how much I wanted you to call my name. It still hurts, Royle. I thought I was over it, but when I saw you again, my heart still hurt."

"Where is she?" Royle let the desperation through. "I swear, Kiesha, if you fucking hurt her..." He held back tears. "You should have taken it up with me. You had no right to drag her into this."

"Why couldn't it have been me?" Kiesha looked at him, her eyes wide and wet. "It could have been us. Why, Royle? What was different?"

Everything.

He steeled himself, keeping his focus on the most important task at hand. "I know what I did to you was unforgivable. You're right. I wasn't thinking about how it would hurt you, and I'm sorry. But, this is wrong. You can't hurt innocent people for revenge."